Wellington Free Ambulance recognises the importance of protecting an individual’s privacy and is fully committed to following the regulations set out by the Privacy Act 2020 including the amendment to the emergency caller location information.

This privacy statement tells you what information we collect and why, what we do with it, and your rights to view, correct or change it.

Please also read our Terms and Conditions which apply to the use of this website.

When do we collect information about you?

As a primary healthcare service, we will collect personal information and health information from you in person, online, by post or by phone when you:

• or somebody else on your behalf, calls 111 for help;
• are treated or cared for by us;
• engage with us through community training;
• fill in a form via our website: www.wfa.org.nz;
• make a donation or somebody else on your behalf, makes a donation;

How we use your information

If you, or somebody else on your behalf, chooses to give us your personal information and/or health information, we will use that in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020, Health Information Privacy Code 2020 and Emergency Services Caller Location Code to improve the quality and safety of your care and our services. We will only use this information for:

• helping to identify you;
• your treatment and care;
• recording your health status;
• monitoring the quality of our treatment and care;
• providing you with information and services you have requested;
• sending receipts for donations;
• thanking you for your donation and to send donor acknowledgment letters and future donation requests;
• Identifying potential new supporters, only using data that is in the public domain in accordance with privacy law;
• providing you with information on wellbeing and health promotion;
• providing you information on how and when to contact us;
• responding to your requests, enquiries, complaints or applications regarding:
  • training and education;
  • clinical research where we have ethical approval;
  • invitations to participate in surveys, provide feedback, fundraising, supporter events and other promotions;
  • prevention and detection of fraud;
  • compliance with our legal obligations, resolution of disputes, and enforcement of our agreements;
  • improving our website so we can give you a better online experience.

Do we share your personal information and health information?

We follow the rules and guidance of the Privacy Act 2020, the Health Information Privacy Code 2020 and Emergency Services Caller Location Code on when and why we may share or disclose personal information and health information with others, your close family, your medical practitioners, health care professionals, health centres and hospitals.

We may share your personal information and health information when:

• you, or somebody else on your behalf, consents for us to do so;
• it is not possible to get your consent and we need to share health information with a hospital or medical centre treating and caring for you to prevent a serious threat to your life and your health;
• we must respond to or comply with any law, regulation, subpoena or court order.

If we treat you at home or in the community we will share a summary of your treatment electronically with your primary care provider (GP). Our paramedics will talk to you about this at the time of treatment to ensure you are happy for us to do so. If you prefer for your treatment by Paramedics to never be shared with your GP that is ok too, please contact us at [email protected].

Secure data handling

• For financial information we use a Payments Card industry Security Standards Council (PCI) compliant database and payment provider.
• All access to supporter financial information is strictly limited to professional staff responsible for processing and reporting on this data.
• A secure sockets layer (SSL) protocol is used when any personal or financial information is entered on our website.
• We do not pass or sell details on to other organisations for their use.
• We do share information securely with selected third party suppliers such as mailing houses. Information is only sent over secure data protected portals that require strong verification to access it.
• Supporters can opt out of receiving information from us at any time.

If you would like to access your personal health information please click here.

Monitoring calls

We monitor and record calls we receive through the 111 emergency call centre.

Caller location information

If you or somebody else, on your behalf, makes an emergency 111 call from a mobile device, we collect, store, use and disclose information on the probable location of the caller to help us respond in accordance with the Emergency Services Caller Location Code.

Further information about caller location and the 111 system can be found at The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website.

What type of information is collected by this website?

We do not collect personally identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information to us. Providing such information is strictly voluntary. This statement is your guide to how we will handle information we learn about you from your visit to our website.

Visitor information

We collect and store the following information about visitors to our site: the name of the domain from which you access the Internet, the date and time you access our site, and the Internet address of the website from which you linked to our site. Cookies may be used to remember visitor preferences when interacting with the website.

We use the information we collect to measure the number of visitors to the different sections of our site, and to help us make our site more useful to visitors.

Making a donation

Wellington Free Ambulance collects and uses personal information from donors including: name, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and donation dates/amounts.

We use this information to provide and distribute receipts, send out donor acknowledgement letters and thank donors for their donations, to keep supporters informed about upcoming fundraising initiatives and other activities of Wellington Free Ambulance and to communicate to our supporters through direct mails and newsletters.

Sending us an email

You also may decide to send us personally identifying information, for example, in an email containing a question or comment, or by filling out a web form that provides us this information. We use the information from an email primarily to respond to your requests. We may forward your email to other employees who are better able to answer your questions.

If you sign up for one of our email lists, we will only send you the kinds of information you have requested. We won’t share your name or email address with any outside parties.

Opt-out or change your contact information

If you are receiving communication from us that you wish to update, request a correction to your personal information or you no longer wish to receive then please contact us through the following methods:

Phone: 0508 WFA Free (0508 932 3733)
Email: [email protected]
Fax: (04) 499 3777

You will always have the option to opt-in and opt-out of communications at anytime.

Resolving problems related to your privacy

If you want to report a suspected breach of your privacy or you do not agree with a decision regarding access to your personal information, please contact us. We have an internal dispute resolution process to address such issues and will promptly acknowledge and investigate complaints.

Any enquires or complaints can be made through our Compliments and complaints process. Please contact us using our feedback form. 

If you are not satisfied with our final decision you can direct your complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner - phone toll free 0800 80 39 09 or by mail to PO Box 466, Auckland.

Questions about our policies

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, to view our full privacy policy, the practices of this site, or the use of your personal information, please contact us at:

Wellington Free Ambulance
PO Box 601
Wellington 6140

Email: [email protected]

We reserve the right to amend information on the website and within the privacy policy at any time. By continuing to use this website after any changes have been made, you acknowledge that you will continue to be bound by these terms.

Updated 10 February 2021